A Few Words From Me Lampang doesn’t get that much attention – even from people like myself who’ve spent years in Thailand. This week its lac-dyed textiles earned official protected status, the same kind Champagne has, which feels overdue in the best way, a craft that could easily have been left to fade (no pun
A decade of peer-reviewed research and a protection law barely a year old point to two very different answers on how to see the world’s biggest fish responsibly. Ninety-three percent. That is the proportion of tourists at Oslob, in southern Cebu, who were found swimming closer to a whale shark than the town’s own ordinance
A Few Words From Me Three governments seem to have landed on the same idea this week: that how people move through a place matters as much as where they go. Thailand has started training its first proper hiking guides, launched at Khao Yai, one of the national parks that together see more than ten
Southeast Asia spent fifty years destroying its most useful coastline. It’s finally growing back, and Vietnam has the receipts. Nobody puts a mangrove forest on a postcard. Ask someone to picture Southeast Asia and you get white sand, a longtail boat, maybe a temple roof catching the light. Nobody pictures a tangle of grey roots
Around the Region Monsoon rain has put five eastern Thai provinces on flood watch this week, with harvests at real risk, while much of Western Europe swelters through drought conditions. Against that backdrop, this issue leans on recovery and renewal. Southeast Asia’s mangroves have quietly flipped from decline to regrowth, driven mainly by Indonesia and
Three new UNESCO biosphere reserves landed in June, including a first for Timor-Leste. What the designation is actually betting on, and what it asks of anyone who visits. Three places joined a very short list this June: UNESCO biosphere reserves, one of them a first for its country entirely. A biosphere reserve isn’t just a
Around the Region Low season is upon us, and the region is feeling a reduction in visitor numbers at community level. Each nation has its own way of attempting to plug the gap – and in Thailand’s case, that means taxing your arrival and your departure. If you’re flying out of Thailand this weekend, your
Around the Region Regular visitors to this region will understand that Southeast Asia’s natural environment is under more pressure than ever, yet the people working to protect it are making measurable progress. We attempt to champion the good, while recognising the bad. This week Thailand has announced a sustainable development plan for one of its
Around the Region For those of us in Bangkok who found ourselves knee-deep in flood water this week, this is merely a sign of things to come. Briefly, messily, typically a storm can see the water table in Thailand’s capital rise quickly. And this is why you’ll find many older Bangkok residents seeking retirement in
A major new report finds two in three captive elephants in Thailand live in poor conditions – despite the industry’s ethical re-brand. Here’s what the report actually says, and what you need to know before you go. The sanctuary had no riding. No shows. It had a logo with a lotus flower and a tagline
Thailand Built a Sustainable Tourism Model in Krabi. Now It’s Rolling It Out in Chiang Mai.
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They Were Feeding Wild Sharks to Give Tourists Their Insta Moment. Bohol Just Put a Stop to It.
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Vietnam’s Best Michelin Restaurants in 2026: The Practical Guide for Conscious Travellers
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